"Wall Street's Lemmings"

As Prof. Immorlica described information cascades in today's lecture, it was hard not to draw a link to financial markets.
This article explains some of the effects information cascades may have on Wall Street and any investors (sometimes known as "lemmings"). The first page of the article, which you may choose to skip, explains much of the same things discussed in class but the second page of the article gives some examples of the consequences and the pitfalls of information cascades that even regulators need to watch out for. For example, the columnist believes that it is equally important for public officials to be perceived as making good economic choices as it is to actually making good economic choices, i.e. regulators must be aware "of public psychology and of the power of social interactions--and their potential role in shpaing them." The columnist also argues that Franklin D. Roosevelt's successes in dealing with the Great Depression was largely due to his ability "to assure the nation" and not solely due to his economic policies. Finally, the columnist notes that information cascades can be stopped or even reversed should it go in the wrong direction.

Note: I believe that the columnist took an unfair jab at former President Bush at the very end of an otherwise unbiased article, but I'll let you decide.